BELGIUM. 



55 



are prepared for the college. Acadia College 

 has buildings and grounds valued at $100,000, 

 and an endowment fund of nearly $100,000, 

 with an indebtedness of $30,000. It has a 

 literary department with seven professors, and 

 a small theological department. At Horton 

 Academy separate departments are provided 

 for young men and young women. 



English Baptist Missions. The English Baptist 

 Missionary Society received, during the year 

 ending with its anniversary in April, 60,722. 

 It had begun the year with a debt of 9,000, 

 the larger part of which had been liquidated, 

 but, as the operations of the society had been 

 at the same time much enlarged, its books still 

 showed a deficit of 4,575. Reports were 

 made at the anniversary, of the condition of 

 missions in India, Ceylon, China, Japan, West 

 Africa (Cameroons and Victoria) ; the new 

 Congo mission in Central Africa, where eleven 

 missionaries were employed; the West India 

 islands, and Norway, Brittany, and Italy, in 

 Europe. Colleges were maintained for Hindoo 

 and Urdoo speaking young men at Delhi, and 

 for Bengalis at Serarapore, India, and at Cal- 

 abar, Jamaica. At the autumnal meeting of 

 the Baptist Union, held in Leicester, in Oc- 

 tober, the debt of the society was reported to 

 be all discharged. It was also announced that 

 fourteen missionaries were to be sent to China, 

 sufficient funds having been promised to assure 

 their outfit and annual maintenance. 



The Baptist Zenana Mission, which is affili- 

 ated with this society, labors particularly among 

 the women in India. It is supported by wom- 

 en, and employs 32 women as visitors to the 

 Zenanas, and 50 Bible women and native teach- 

 ers, and maintains 20 schools, which are regu- 

 larly attended by 800 pupils. 

 BASUTOLAND. See CAPE COLONY. 

 BECHUANALAffD. See CAPE COLONY. 

 BELGIUM, a constitutional monarchy in West- 

 ern Europe. The King has power to convoke 

 and dissolve the Legislature, and to conclude 

 treaties ; but treaties affecting the interests of 

 the nation require legislative sanction. The 

 House of Representatives is elected in the 

 ratio of one member to at least 40,000 inhab- 

 itants, by citizens paying direct taxes to the 

 amount of 43 francs, which restricts the fran- 

 chise to about one thirteenth of the adult male 

 population. The deputies are elected for four 

 years, one half of the terms expiring every two 

 years. All laws relating to finance and mili- 

 tary service must originate in this Chamber. 

 The members of the Senate are elected in the 

 same way as the deputies ; their number is 

 exactly half that of the deputies, and their 

 terms are twice as long. The reigning sov- 

 ereign is Leopold II., born April 9, 1835, who 

 succeeded his father, Leopold I., December 

 10, 1865. 



The Cabinet. The present Cabinet consists of 

 the following members: Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs and President of the Council, Hubert 

 J. W. Frere-Orban, appointed June 19, 1878 ; 



Minister of Justice, Jules Bara, appointed June 

 19, 1878 ; Minister of War, General Gratry, 

 appointed Nov. 8, 1880 ; Minister of Public 

 Works, Sabier Olin, appointed April 5, 1882; 

 Minister of the Interior, Rolin Jaequemyns, 

 appointed June 19, 1878; Minister of Finance, 

 Charles Graux, appointed Nov. 8, 1880; Min- 

 ister of Public Instruction, Pierre van Hum- 

 beeck, appointed June 19, 1878. 



Area and Population. The area of Belgium is 

 29,455 square kilometres, or 11,373 square 

 miles. The area and population of the nine 

 provinces into which the kingdom is divided, 

 according to a census taken Dec. 31, 1880, were 

 as follow : 



The density of population is 485 per square 

 mile, exceeding that of any other country in 

 Europe. In 1878 the number speaking French 

 was reported as 2,256,860 ; Flemish, 2,659,890 ; 

 both languages, 340,770; German, 38,070 ; Ger- 

 man and French or Flemish, 28,980. Since the 

 separation of Belgium from the Netherlands in 

 1830, the increase of population has been at the 

 rate of one per cent, per annum. One fifth of 

 the population follow agricultural pursuits, and 

 one fifth trade and manufactures. The number 

 of freehold proprietors in 1880 was 1,181,177, 

 an increase of 29 per cent, since 1846. The pop- 

 ulation not only increases rapidly by natural in- 

 crement, but in recent years by immigration to 

 a slight extent. The population of Brussels, 

 the capital, in 1880, was 394,940. There were 

 six other cities with over 40,000 inhabitants: 

 Antwerp, 169,112; Ghent, 131,431; Liege, 

 123,131; Bruges, 44,501; Mechlin, 42,381; 

 Verviers. 40,944. 



Religion. The entire population, with the ex- 

 ception of about 15,000 Protestants and 3,000 

 Israelites, profess the Roman Catholic religion. 

 The dissenting bodies not only enjoy full reli- 

 gious liberty, but their ministers, like the Roman 

 Catholic priests, receive salaries from the state 

 treasury. These salaries of the clergy, rang- 

 ing from 600 to 1,360 francs for the parish 

 priests, are supplemented by fees and contri- 

 butions. By the census of 1880 there were 

 1,559 convents, containing 1,346 male and 20,- 

 645 female inmates. 



Education. The public-school system of Bel- 

 gium has been for years the subject of bitter 

 controversy between the Government party 

 and the Clericals. The clergy have retained 

 in a large measure the control of the education 

 of the people, by maintaining schools supported 



